Leading ride-hailing company, Bolt, says it has restricted inter-country ride requests on its app. This was disclosed in response to a Technext inquiry into the matter of mischievous ride requests emanating from both countries following a row.
Responding to the query, Country Manager, Yahaya Mohammed said the company is aware of the fake ride request incident between some individuals in Nigeria and South Africa. He said the team has successfully taken measures to resolve the issue of fake ride requests affecting its driver-partners, particularly those operating in Nigeria and South Africa. He said the integrity and safety of the platform, both for driver-partners and riders, is of utmost priority.
Thus, the company has investigated the matter and riders who have indulged in those mischievous activities have been blocked on the app.
“Following a thorough investigation and the implementation of enhanced security measures, we have addressed this issue swiftly by restricting inter-country ride requests. Additionally, those responsible for this malicious activity have been identified and held accountable by blocking them from the Bolt app,” the country manager said.
He also thanked the driver-partners for their patience and professionalism during this time and said the company remained dedicated to supporting them in every possible way.
“We understand the impact this situation has had on our driver-partners in Nigeria and South Africa. We are committed to ensuring a safe, reliable, and secure experience for all members of our community,” he said.
How Bolt became a battleground for South Africans and Nigerians
Nigerians and South Africans were at each other’s throats once again. Following the quelling of the battle for the soul of Chidimma Adetshina, the warriors appeared to have found a new battleground for their war of attrition and this new battleground appears to be nowhere else than on the apps of leading ride-hailing companies, Bolt and Uber.
According to information available online, the trend of ordering rides from a different country and sending fake ride orders started in South Africa this morning. The intent is to target Nigerian e-hailing drivers, sending them on false errands to particular pick-up locations only to cancel the rides when the driver gets there.
In some of the screenshots seen online, the South Africans who ordered the fake rides can be seen mocking their Nigerian victims. They made references to the recent saga of the Nigerian-born South African, Chidimma Adetshina who pulled out of the Miss Universe, South African beauty pageant after xenophobic attacks.
The situation is made worse by Nigeria’s current cost of living crisis made worse by a biting fuel scarcity. This means the drivers are losing a lot on such false ride orders.
But Nigerians decided to respond and indeed took it even a notch higher. Not just content with wasting the South African drivers’ effort and fuel, the Nigerian fake riders have decided to waste their time by having actual conversations with them, with real albeit unrealistic locations for the riders.
Imagine telling a driver in Cape Town that you are in the Illorin post office and the driver thinking that is a real place in Cape Town.
One fake Nigerian rider even said he was looking to transport chopped human body parts to which the South African driver agreed to help him transport the dismembered bodies of two people for an improved fee.
At one point, the driver was even advising the Nigerian rider on the best way to package the butchered bodies in a black bag, stating that it is easier that way.
See also: War of rides: Nigerians and South Africans launch fake orders on Bolt and Uber app
The post Bolt blocks inter-country requests over Nigeria vs South Africa row, blocks mischief makers first appeared on Technext.
